It was my first time attending the Shewaya Sharqi Festival in Helsinki, Finland. I had been invited by the organisers to perform at the closing show. The festival, which was run and organiser by Aneilli, was very small, with great workshops from the following teachers: Randa Kamel, Khaled Mahmoud, and Magdy El Liesy.

On the Friday night, the first show took place. I was there early to get my seat, and was lucky to be sitting in the front row. The show was with Randa and her band including musicians Usama Hussein, and Samir Ali. Raed also performed the Whirling Dervish and Khaled performed a few times also. The whole show lasted about 4 hours, and ran over time. It was one of the most enjoyable shows I had seen in a long time. Khaled did a few punchy pieces, with his usual flare and graceful style. Wearing a lovely new blue two-piece, and a nice fitted turquoise galabaya. Randa on the other hand was her strong self. Her pieces were lively, and very exciting. She chose a lovely black and gold Saidi outfit, and a navy blue two-piece costume. I learned so much from watching her and her stage presence.

The day after I attended all classes from Randa and one of Khaled’s. The day went quickly, however I enjoyed the classes, and learned a lot. I was very tired by the end of the day, as Randa had made us work hard, teaching two choreographies. However previously in the morning I was over the moon. Randa shouted my name and said ‘Good Morning Fereshteh’. She remembered me I thought. This had put me in a good mood, and made me work even harder. We had a long discussion after class. Its not often one can be in a class of 20 or less with Randa Kamel! It’s usually more like 50-100 students, all-pushing just to see her…. so I was very happy to have much attention from her.

Soon after classes it was time to make a move. That evening, I had to perform twice. The first piece I did was an opening piece, a lively 10 min performance, while my second piece happened to be favourite of Randa’s. She told me after the show, its one of her favourite songs. So I was very pleased to hear this. I then sat with her in the front row, and watched the remainder of the show. Randa was so sweet, and kept holding my hand. Other performers included dancers from Sweden, Hungary, Estonia, and of course Finland.

The next day it was back to the grind with hard workshops from Randa. Even thou I was tired from the night before, I was first in class, and ready to go. The workshops started early morning, and finished at 6pm. I enjoyed the day, and was soon thinking about the journey to return home. Soon afterwards I had a look at the small souk available, and went to say my goodbyes. I met some lovely people, however unfortunately most of them were not Finnish